Former NBA fan favorite Jeremy Lin has announced his retirement from professional basketball, concluding a distinguished career that began in 2010 and included an NBA championship with the Toronto Raptors. Lin made history as the first Taiwanese-American player in the league and rose to global fame during the 2011-12 season with his extraordinary “Linsanity” run. During this period, he seemingly emerged from nowhere to spark a remarkable surge for the New York Knicks with a series of phenomenal mid-season performances.
Following his title-winning season in 2019, Lin played his final years in Chinese and Taiwanese leagues, rather than the NBA. Most recently, he starred for the New Taipei Kings, leading them to the 2025 TPBL championship and earning both the league MVP and TPBL Finals MVP honors.
“As athletes, we are always aware that the possibility of retirement is never far away,” Lin shared in a social media post. “I`ve spent my 15-year career knowing that one day I would have to walk away, and yet actually saying goodbye to basketball today has been the hardest decision I`ve ever made.”
His “Linsanity” season transformed Lin from a bench player into a solidified starter. The following year, in 2012, he started all 82 regular-season games for the Houston Rockets, marking his most complete professional season and firmly establishing that his Knicks` success was no fluke.
“It`s been the honor of a lifetime to compete against the fiercest competitors under the brightest lights and to challenge what the world thought was possible for someone who looks like me,” Lin reflected. “I`ve lived out my wildest childhood dreams to play in front of fans all around the world. I will forever be the kid who felt fully alive every time I touched a basketball.”
Lin consistently averaged double-digit scoring from his breakthrough “Linsanity” season (2011-12) through his penultimate NBA year (2018-19). Many of his career bests were achieved during that impactful Knicks season, where he averaged 14.6 points, 6.2 assists, 1.6 steals, and shot 44.6% from the field.
“So many people have sacrificed and poured into my journey, more than I could ever repay,” Lin stated. “Thank you all for believing in me, for walking with me, for celebrating my highs and picking me up in my lows. This is a ride I never wanted to end but I know it`s time. I will forever miss playing basketball in front of you all but our time will go beyond just playing. Here`s to what`s ahead.”
The Golden State Warriors originally signed Lin as an undrafted free agent in 2010, after his standout collegiate career at Harvard, where he was a three-time All-Ivy League honoree.
